Vikings considering all options with Kirk Cousins out for the season with torn Achilles

Kirk Cousins has played his last game for the Vikings in the 2023 season. If he's going to play for them again, he will have to come back from a major injury at age 36 and sign a new contract with the team.

An MRI on Monday morning showed Cousins tore the Achilles tendon in his right heel, confirming what a source said Sunday was the quarterback's initial diagnosis. He will need surgery and will miss the rest of the season, after which he is set to become a free agent. The timeline for his surgery and recovery will be determined this week, the team announced.

Cousins was injured when he dropped back on a third-and-19 from the Packers 22 with 10:30 left in Sunday's game. His Achilles ruptured when he planted his cleat in the Lambeau Field grass; based on his conversation with the quarterback after the injury, coach Kevin O'Connell said Sunday, he thought Cousins' cleat got caught in the grass at Lambeau Field.

"We were kind of calling a safe play right there, a little bit of a screen, kind of a double move in case they were aggressive in the moment," O'Connell said Sunday. "Three-man rush and he kind of stepped up in the pocket. That is all I saw. I just know in some of my dialogue with Kirk, it seems like maybe his cleat might have gotten stuck in the ground or whatever it was. It probably isn't right for me to speculate, I just know that it was incredibly, incredibly unfortunate in that moment."

Cousins, 35, will miss a regular-season game because of injury for the first time in his 12-year NFL career. His injury means the Vikings will prepare for a regular-season game for the first time in six years without knowing who their starter will be.

O'Connell said Monday the Vikings would consider all their options at quarterback, adding, "You wouldn't believe some of the things I've received on my cellphone in the last 24 hours."

He didn't rule out adding a passer who could come in and play soon, though he said the Vikings' offense has evolved enough that even a quarterback who was with them in training camp last year would have some catching up to do.

Watch coach Kevin O'Connell's Monday news conference here:

The learning curve for a new quarterback wouldn't be the Vikings' only challenge. The NFL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, giving the Vikings little time to acquire a passer in a deal. They might also be hesitant to part with high draft picks, given the fact Cousins' pending free agency means the Vikings could be looking for his successor in what's projected to be a quarterback-heavy draft next year.

"I think the conversations that lead you down that road help clearly define the answer based upon, is it a short-term-only thing? Is it something that could be more long-term? Is it something that truly is an upgrade versus just the sheer dealing with the reality of a tough situation right now?" O'Connell said. "That's what we have to work through."

Referring to the team's "competitive rebuild" philosophy, the coach added, "We understand that we signed up to live in this kind of dual world" of being competitive now versus being competitive in the future that sometimes can feel like competing ideas. O'Connell said he and his staff are "all synced up" with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff.

"That's where you've got to just continue to have dialogue, communicate and ultimately make the best decision collectively," O'Connell said. "More often than not, that's worked out for us so far."

At present, the Vikings have two healthy quarterbacks on the roster: rookie Jaren Hall, who finished Sunday's game after Cousins was injured, and veteran Sean Mannion, who is on the practice squad while Nick Mullens recovers from a low back injury that will keep him on injured reserve until at least next week.

"We'll continue Jaren's process of getting him ready to go each and every week," O'Connell said. "If he ends up being the guy, I know every guy on our roster has confidence in Jaren, and we're still working through some things what that may look like to potentially add another player here."

The Vikings could look to sign free agent Colt McCoy, who spent three years with O'Connell in Washington and backed up Cousins there. McCoy, 37, visited the Vikings in October; he wasn't able to agree to a deal with the team at the time, but could be an immediate fit now that the Vikings' QB picture has changed.

On Monday morning, after Cousins' MRI confirmed he'd torn his Achilles, O'Connell said he spoke with the quarterback "more so as a friend."

Cousins was clear, O'Connell said, about his plan to remain involved in the Vikings' offensive meetings and help their quarterbacks however he could. "Quite honestly, I don't expect anything less from Kirk Cousins, being the man and leader that he is," O'Connell added.

It's possible, given Cousins' contract status, he'll make his comeback from his injury as part of another team. On Monday, a day where Cousins' injury still had chilled the Vikings' mood after a win over their NFC North rivals, O'Connell's conversation with his quarterback wasn't about this week's game plan.

"I've become really close with him. It's more so about being in support mode for him right now," O'Connell said. "That's maybe getting him connected with some people who might be able to at least give him some advice — players who have gone through it, maybe. … It's more, 'What can I do for you as you go throughout this process?' I do think that's very important, for me to do that."